Cholesterol and Angina
Many people who have angina are found to have raised cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a fatty substance which is essential to healthy life. Made in the liver, it is transported around the body to where it is needed by substances called lipoproteins.
LDL (low density lipoprotein) carries cholesterol from the liver to the cells and is considered ‘bad cholesterol’. HDL (high density lipoprotein) is the ‘good cholesterol’ because it carries surplus cholesterol back to the liver.
Too much fat in your diet, particularly saturated fat found in fatty meats and meat products, full fat dairy products and many processed foods, will raise LDL cholesterol. This can cause fatty build up (atheroma) in the walls of the arteries.
Some people have a constantly higher concentration of cholesterol in their blood stream because the cholesterol is not cleared properly from the blood stream. This problem often runs in families and is called familial hyperlipidaemia or familial hypercholesterolaemia.
Total cholesterol should be reduced to at least below 5 and/or by at least one quarter (25%) from the baseline cholesterol level.
Ways to reduce your cholesterol level
- Reduce your total fat.
- Replace saturated fat with poly- and monounsaturated fat.
- Increase your fruit and vegetables to at least five portions a day.
- If you are overweight, try and reduce your weight to your recommended level.
This is an important way of reducing your risk of suffering from heart disease including angina. To find out more visit "Healthy Eating & Alcohol Intake"
The information on this page has been adapted from the CHSS leaflet “Living with Angina”
Last updated: 02/10/2007